David Home, 4th Baron Wedderburn

From the Hume family home page Genealogy Database:

http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~hume/tree/1365.htm

Home, David 4th Baron of Wedderburn (Sir) [10],[13]

• Born 1489, Wedderburn Castle, Berwickshire, Scotland
• Marriage: Douglas, Alison in 1513 in Scotland
• Died: Jul 1524 at age 35 Children:
• 1. Home, George 5th Baron of Wedderburn (Sir)
• 2. Home, David 6th Baron of Wedderburn (Sir)
• 3. Home, John of Crumstane
• 4. Home, Julia
• 5. Home, Isabel
• 6. Home, Elizabeth

General Notes:

4th Baron of Wedderburn

Source: "El origin y la historia" on Page 16 indicates Sir David was slain in 1524.

Infeft as heir to his father 12 June 1515. Slain about August 1524. [Case on the part of Sir Hugh Hume Campbell of Marchmont, Baronet, in realtion to the claim of Francis Doublas Home, Esq., to the Titles, Honours, and Dignities of Earl of Marchmont, Viscoutn of Blazonberry, Lord Polwart of Polwart, Reidbraes, and Greenlaw. Presented to the Lords in 1843. Printed by Spottiswoode and Robertson, Westminster, pp. 76, with chart.]

David of Wedderburn was the principal actor in the slaughter of Anthony d'Arcie de la Bastie the government of Lothian, and the Castle of Dunbar for his residence. He also made him Warden of the Borders where the Homes chiefly realded; he likewise conferred on him the whole estate of Hume, forfeited by Alexander, 3rd Lord [descent elsewhere] and put a French garrison into the castle, from which, as it was raised high above the surrounding country, be looked down upon them as from a watch tower, and as it were, showed his triumph for the slaughter of their chief.

This David of Wedderburn had every day before his eyes, and it sorely afflicted him. The slaughter of his chief and near relation, the family ruined and banished, the honor of his name, and the danger of every noble from the tyranny and treachery of Albany, tormented his enterprising soul. The nobles were insulted, the whole nation was held in contempt even by the French for yielding to the yoke of a foreigner, the common people were enraged, and lamented the degeneracy of the nobles.

An occasion soon presented itself for putting an end to this state of things. William Cockburn, his brother-in-law, was angry that the guardianship of his nephew was not given to him by his brother, and got David to besiege the Castle of Langton, which the guardians held for their ward. De la Bastie, being at Kelso, heard of this, and cited Wedderburn to meet him on the road to Dunbar, for which he was to set out the next day.

The meeting was at first peaceable, but by degrees they became more warm, and De la Bastiedesired that they would desist, and that if any injury had been done to William Cockburn, they might try his right, but not by force. Wdderburn replied to this, that he had no business with it, but that William was thrust from his right in the administration of his nephew's affairs; and that this was done by fraud of the curators,a s his brothers were too afflicted by disease to withstand their importunities, but that if William was in the wrong, he was answerable for it, and not him. This put De la Bastie in a fury; he insisted that he should raise the siege of Langton, otherwise it would bring ruin upon them all.

David resolved on revenge, having passed the village of Fogo, within half a mile of Langton Tower, then furiously besieged by William Cockburn and David's brothers, he sent a message to acquaint them with the affair, and desired them to come to him with their swiftest horses, to attack De la Bastie's troop. Leaping on the choicest horses and shouting out the name of Wedderburn, they strike terror into their enemies.

There were but 18 horsement who could be relied on. De la Bastie had 500 horsemen, French and Scotch, but those of the Merse sided with Wedderburn, and those of Teviotdale got out of the way. Carr of Littlejohn seized Wedderburn's bridle and begged him not to engage against La Bastie, but finding him resolute, he too slipped away with the rest of Teviotdale. When De la Bastie saw how matters stood, he called fawningly to Wedderburn, apologizing for his rough passion and begging to come to a mutual agreement: Wedderburn thinking he had gone too far to recee, upbraided him with the slaughter of his chief.

When the Frenchman saw that the Scots had deserted him, and that only his own men remained faithful to him, whilst Wedderburn's party rapidly increased, he took flight: he was mounted on an excellent horse that had belonged to Lord Hume, and had he been saddled in the Scotch fashion, he would have carried him safely off, but unaccustomed to French trappings, his speed was obstructed, yet he sprung away and passed through Dunse, leaving his pursuers at a distance.

A page of Wedderburn, who had been left at home, hearing of the tumult, flew to it on one of his master's horses, and with a drawn sword kept pace with De la Bastie step for step, every now and then making a thrust at him. Bastie threatened the boy, but his horse fell, and though he was soon on his feet, he was roughly handled by the page until John and Patrick Home, Wedderburn's brothers, came up and killed him. His head was brought to Dunse and exposed, and afterwards it was carried to the Castle of Hume. It has been falsely alleged that this action was perpetrated by fraud, but Wedderburn was more famed for daring than cunning; and I have heard from those who were present at the action that it was not premeditated, but that the opportunity offered was taken advantage of.

David, in the triumph of his barbaric rage, fastened the head of his victim by its long and adorned hair to his saddle bow, and regained his house, breathing contempt against the regency and the laws. The head was placed on a spear on the highest turret, and the hair was long preserved in the charter chest of the family. In 1520, he rode into Edinburgh with a band of 800 horse to assist Angus against the Hamiltons, and the people of Edinburgh called this skirmish clear the causeway, because the faction of Arran was as it were swept from the streets. When James V being quite a boy was asked in 1521 what should be done with some French whom Albany had left behind, he replied, "Oh, give them to David Home's keeping."

The hair of De la Bastie was preserved in the family until the year 1810, when it was thrown into the fire by Miss Jean Home, the then proprietress of the house. It is to be hoped that this was done in repentance of the savage conduct of her progenitor.

David was cited before the council in Edinburgh, and not appearing, was outlawed, and Arran was ordered to go with a strong force in search of him. When Arran came to Lauder, Wedderburn sent him the keys of all his castles of Wedderburn, Home, and Langton, in all of which Arran put garrisons, and he himself returned to Edinburgh. Wedderburn then repaired to the Castle of Edrington on the borders of the lands belonging to the Town of Berwick, the governor of which had married Wedderburn's sister, and he remained there all the time of his banishment with little less power than he had at home, no one venturing to leave the country without his leave.

The only man who opposed him was Robert Blackadder, Abbot of Coldingham, on account of ancient family disputes; meeting one day out a hunting, with an equal number of attendants, they found with such bitter enmity that the abbot and most of men were killed. After this, he hastened to secure his castles, which he gained possession of one after another, and then he brought the whole country under subjection; it is probably at this time that he brought back his chief, George, to take possession of his property. When Angus in 1520, expelled the Earl of Arran and his faction from Edinburgh, Wedderburn was there along with Angus' brother William, attended by at least 800 horsemen, and forced them to open the gates of the city, but not before Angus had obtained a complete victory.

Godscroft adds that it was he who took down his kinsman, Lord Home's head, from the Tollbooth, but others, apparently better informed, say it was George Lord Home who did this. It is very odd that there should be such contradictions in the accounts of facts by writers almost contemporaneous.

The Governor, Albany, who was still in France, granted a pardon to David and his brothers and uncle; David repaid the favor by rendering the Governor effective assistance in his expedition into England, and stood by him when all other Scots deserted him, upon which occasion, the King granted him the reward of an augmentation to his arms. He was a staunch hater of the English, and nothing would ever induce him to make friends with them to save his property from plunder.

When Surrey invaded Scotland, he attacked all Wedderburn's castles. That of Wedderburn was surrounded by a moat 40 feet broad and 9 feet deep, and by a thick wall with seven angles, at each which was a circular tower. The keep was square, and the wall with wall 16 feetthick. There was a drawbridge beorthegate, which was the only entrance into the castle. Each tower had two doors, one of oak and the other of iron bars, which could draw up or let down at pleasure.

Surrey battered down the castle and blue up the keep, but Wedderborn continued to live in the fragment that remained until his death. The castle Blackadder, which belonged to his brother, was treated in the same manner, and also those of Nisbettt and Polwarth. The castles of Ayton and Dunse had been destroyed in the time of James IV. The Castle of Hume was alone preserved and garrisoned by English.

He so distinguished himself at the siege of the Castle of Wark that the King James V gave him as a reward an augmentation to his arms, the motto "Remember" an an unicorn's head gorged with an imperial crown for his crest. It was a point of honor in these times for chief to espouse all the quarrels of his vassals.

Lauder, the tends of which belonged to Andrew his brother, was held of the Abbey of Dryburgh. The abbot being dead, Carr of Littlejohn seized on the abbey and its revenues. David, enraged that he should come out of Teviotdale into the Merse, which was under his protection, set about reducing the abbey again into his power, and dispossessed Littlejohn, who had taken up his residence at the abbey. David made over the abbey to the new abbot, and got the teinds of Lauder confirmed to his brother.

Two years afterwards (in 1524) fighting with the English, he was wounded and taken prisoner, but the horse he rode being very swift, he broke away from them and had already got two miles away, when his horse getting tired he determined to throw off the saddle, which the borderers were accustomed to do, even at full speed; but the girths entangling the horse's legs, he stumbbled, and David fell on his head, when, owing to the bleeding of his previous wounds, he expired in the hands of the enemy. On the place where he fell, a cross was erected, which stood for a long time.

[From History of Dunbar Hume and Dundas from Drummond's Noble British Families, William Pickering, London, 1846, pages 20-21.

David married Alison Douglas, daughter of George Douglas and Elizabeth Drummond, in 1513 in Scotland (Alison Douglas was born in 1491 in Blackadder, Scotland, and died in Wedderburn Castle, Berwickshire, Scotland).

References:

10 Henry Drummond, Histories of Noble British Families, with Biographical Notices of the Most Distinguished Individuals in Each, Illustrated by their Armorial Bearings Protraits Monuments Seals Etc. (Part VI, London, William Pickering, 1844, (Folio), pp. 1-44.) FHC Microfilm # 0990417

13 Founded 1826 by John Burke & Sir Bernard Burke, C.B, Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, Privy Council & Order of Precedence (London, Burke's Peerage Limited, 1949, 99th Edition), Page 1028.

On the politics of David Home's time, from the English Wikipedia page on John Stewart, Duke of Albany:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stewart,_Duke_of_Albany

Regency of Scotland

Albany was called to assume the regency (or guardianship) in 1514 when the infant king's mother, Dowager Queen Margaret married again to the Scottish noble, Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, who led his own faction in Scotland and was opposed by other factions. He arrived at Dumbarton with a squadron of eight ships, including the James and Margaret, which James IV had lent to Louis XII of France, on 26 May 1515.[1] Albany utilized the Scottish nobility’s innate distrust of Margaret. After two years' of this uneasy situation, in 1516 Margaret had to flee to England (Albany besieged the queen at Stirling and got possession of the royal children) and Albany thus succeeded in making himself the sole regent. The fragmentary and quarrelous politics of Scotland overthrew and also restored Albany's powers several times.

The earl of Angus made his peace with Albany later in 1516. Between 1517 to 1520 Albany sojourned in France, and did not exercise the regency on spot, but through his lieutenants. Queen Margaret sought to regain the regency, but in vain. Young king James was kept a virtual prisoner by Albany, and queen Margaret was allowed to see her son only once between 1516 and end of Albany's regency. Margaret started to try get a divorce from Angus, also through Albany secretly. Albany returned to Scotland in 1521 and Margaret now sided with him against her husband. Thus Albany was able to keep upper hand in regard to ambitious Angus. The regent took the government into his own hands. Albany put Angus under charges of high treason in December 1521, and later sent him practically a prisoner to France.

The 12-year-old James V's minority was proclaimed to end in 1524, as Queen Dowager Margaret and her supporters (such as Albany's first cousin, James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran) wanted to grab power. Albany was ousted completely by this. In 1524 Angus returned to Scotland, and took Edinburgh in February 1525. The subsequently summoned parliament sealed, in turn also the Queen's defeat by making Angus a Lord of the Articles, included in the council of regency, and bearer of the king's crown on the opening of the session, and with Archbishop Beaton held the chief power.

Albany had (with Jean Abernethy) an illegitimate daughter, Eleanor Stewart, who married Jean de L'Hopital, comte de Choisy, later the tutor of the Dauphin Francis (d. 1578).[2] From their son Jacques de L'Hospital, 1st Marquess of Choisy, descends issue, for example the Dukes of Castries and the MacMahon Dukes of Magenta.

After his overthrow from Scottish regency, Albany lived mainly in France. John's French wife, Duchess Anne died in St.Saturnin in June 1524. This was just after their only daughter, Anne Stewart (Anne de Stuart d'Auvergne) died in her teens and without any children of her own. Duchess Anne left her inheritance (Auvergne) to her infant niece, donna Catherine de' Medici (b. 1519), daughter of John's first cousin and Anne's younger sister the late Madeleine of Auvergne, and Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino. Catherine, or rather her guardians in France, thus received the county of Auvergne.

Military service in France and the Four Years' War

During the Italian Wars (1521–1525), between France, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, Albany was placed in command of a third of Francis I's Army and sent to attack the Papal forces and to launch an attack on Naples, then held by the Spanish. Due to inept leadership the remaining two thirds of the army met with Imperial forces at Pavia in 1525 and were routed with Francis and countless other French Nobles taken hostage. Albany's section of the army suffered numerous ambushes and desertions, and he returned to a cowed France without having reached Naples.

On David Home's death date, from Calendar of the State Papers, Relating to Scotland:

http://books.google.cl/books?id=hlBnAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA17&lpg=PA17&dq=15...

Letter 56. Dated: June 25, 1524 Norham. Bulmer to Wolsey. Receipt of letters; one to the Observant Friar. Has conveyed his thanks to the garrison at Norham. Death of David Hume. The Observant Friar will answer the letters addressed to him within 8 or 10 days.